Heavy Spring Rain

Monday

Heavy Spring Rain

The blurry white streaks in the accompanying photograph are from especially heavy raindrops that poured down during a springtime rain that is expected to dump several inches of rain in the next 12-24 hours in Northwest Ohio. The storm, which does not feature heavy thunderstorm activity, is a slow-moving meteorological beast laden with precipitation.

These fat raindrops splattered on the ground with an authoritative smacking sound, and some of these showers might be strong enough to damage some of my seedlings. I am particularly concerned with some pepper and tomato plants that are just beginning to take root, although any plants destroyed by heavy rains means less plant thinning I will need to perform later.

I always feel a bit guilty when it comes time to decide exactly which plants will live and which will be snipped in the prime of their lives. Then there is the second-guessing involved: what if I decide to thin a plant that really is better suited for local conditions and which just happened to get off to a slow start?

The rain continues to soak the ground and pummel the plants, and it might save me the trouble of playing God next week with my seedlings.